Although not centrally located, the Proton Business Hotel stands in a pleasant 1950s suburb of Moscow, once home to flourishing estates and villages and still offering many interesting attractions. Just one metro stop away from the hotel guests will find the spectacular Church of the Intercession at Fili, built between 1690 and 1693 and considered a masterpiece of Russian Baroque architecture. Commissioned by Prince Lev Naryshkin, the church was built in the shape of a Greek cross, rising in elaborately decorated wedding cake tiers. Devoted by the French in 1812 to the decidedly less-secular purpose of a tailor's workshop and a stables, the building has long since been returned to the church and now organizes temporary exhibitions of religious art and occasional summer concerts.
Definitely worth a look for any hotel guests interested in Russian history, the Borodino Panorama Museum houses an extraordinary 115-meter long circular painting by Franz Roubaud depicting the Battle of Borodino. The battle between the massed French troops of Napoleon and the Russian soldiers under Field Marshal Kutuzov took place in August 1812 just 129 kilometers outside Moscow. The Battle lasted for 15 hours and resulted in unprecedented casualties on both sides, although there is still debate between the nations as to who was ultimately victorious. In the end Kutuzov's Russian troops retreated and the Field Marshal made a decision to surrender Moscow in order to preserve his army.
Just across the road from the Borodino Museum and a short distance from the hotel stands the imposing Triumphal Arch, designed by Osip Bove and originally built in the 1830s to commemorate Russia's victory over Napoleon. Dismantled in the 1930s, as it allegedly obstructed the flow of traffic, the elaborately sculpted stone Arch was eventually rebuilt in 1968 in its original place. Another monument located in the adjacent Victory Park, the Moscow Hero-City Obelisk, was erected to commemorate the contribution of Moscow and its citizens to Russian victory in the Second World War.
Guests at the Proton Business Hotel can also take advantage of the nearby bustling commercial Kutuzovsky Prospekt area. Built in the 1950s to accommodate many members of the Soviet elite, this district now attracts Moscow's nouveaux riches to its plush boutiques, designer shopping outlets and expensive salons.
